


Talk Less, Smile More

by ChimkenNumget



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Anne centric, F/F, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I don't know how this went from angsty longing to parrlyn but I'mma take it, I dunno man that phrase just hit close to home, The title's Hamilton but the content is six, am i projecting?, anne is a sad bean, probably
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:27:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23209270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChimkenNumget/pseuds/ChimkenNumget
Summary: Talking less and smiling more seems to be a working tactic for Anne for people to leave her alone. Of course, this doesn't go as she planned.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 108





	Talk Less, Smile More

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if the french phrase I used is correct, but if it isn't, just tell me (I used Google translate soooo)
> 
> Also, the only Henry that I'm referring to here is Henry Percy

_Talk less._

She got beheaded for being too outspoken. Separated from her daughter and her friend for speaking her mind. Anne Boleyn died because her points and words struck the court and Henry's ego, now she had learned her lesson. 

_Don't talk too much_ , she tells herself. _Don't say anything that will make them leave you_. And it rang in her mind over and over again. She talked less, letting people open up as she listened to their problems and opinions, not bothering to tell them her thoughts, instead just adding to their opinions as if to make them her own. 

No, she won't talk more, she was killed because of it. 

_Smile more_.

She was given the title "Gremlin" by both fans and the queens. The chaotic queen, one who enjoys pranks and jokes, someone who hides Aragon's things just to mess with her. Someone who smiles a lot. 

Anne held that title with pride, held it up to her face to mask what's underneath. _Smile more_ , she repeats. _Just smile, they wouldn't know_. And that false bravado stuck to her head, never ending as it rings. 

Somehow, it works. 

None of her fellow queens ever noticed the tear stained pillows. None saw the pictures of Elizabeth and Henry Percy just inside her drawers. No one ever suspected anything from her, all because she smiled more. 

_Talk less_. 

Interviews were both tiring and a pain in the ass. As much as the queens love answering questions about myths and misconceptions about them, it gets pretty tiring and boring once reporters ask the same question again and again. 

Though, there was one question in particular that struck Anne like the swordsman's swing: " _why haven't you ever mentioned Henry Percy?"_

Anne wanted to tell them, wanted to tell them all the things they've been through. How they planned their marriage, their children's names, their future. Anne had never wanted anything more than to gush about Henry, _her_ Henry, yet she couldn't. The same way she couldn't with questions regarding Elizabeth. 

So with a forced smile, she said: "don't want people to get confused! There's so many Henry's mentioned anyways." And she ended with a laugh. It's not that important. They don't need to know. 

_Smile more_. 

It was Elizabeth's birthday. Anne had to force herself out of bed. She doesn't feel like celebrating, doesn't want to go out, yet she held her tongue and smiled as she went out her room. 

Jane prepared breakfast, she made Anne's favourite, a little thing Anne was grateful for. Another thing was no one ever mentioned her daughter's birthday once. She knows it pains them too, especially the queens after her, but Anne just couldn't bear crying on Elizabeth's birthday again. She won't, so she just smiled and thanked Jane for the breakfast. 

She wondered what life would be like if she married Henry Percy. If she had Elizabeth with him, and together they raise her to be the greatest there is. Anne's mask almost fell, but she fixed it before anyone could notice. 

Unbeknownst to her, the queens already saw. 

**_Talk less_**.

"What's gotten into you?" It was Jane who broke the silence first, and, as much as she didn't mean to sound so demanding, she was getting worried about the second queen's behaviour. 

Anne, Jane, and Aragon were the ones left in the house that time. The other half went out to meet up with the ladies, something about music and such. Which left Anne to curse to herself, ' _I should have went with them_.'

"What do you mean?" Anne's voice was just above a whisper, not entirely like the boisterous queen they knew on stage. Not the one they knew in their past lives. 

Aragon raised a brow, almost screaming ' _are you joking?_ ' before looking at Jane, clearly not wanting to deal with this bullshit. 

Jane, for her part, showed her worry blatantly. Sure, they weren't exactly that close back then, hell, they still fight until today, but Anne was still her cousin— _her_ _family_ , she'd be damned if her family got hurt again. "Anne, _please_. We know when something is wrong, please don't hide your pain from us, love." She muttered as softly as possible, yet Anne still didn't meet her gaze. 

"Look, Boleyn," Aragon sighed, "we may not see eye to eye, but at least tell us what's wrong. We're getting worried. Kitty's getting worried about you, you know."

Anne flinched at the mention of her cousin and brought her knees close to her chest, hugging them tightly. "There's nothing wrong." She squeaked out, tears started to fall from her eyes, yet it seems like she hasn't noticed. "Nothing's wrong." She repeated, bringing her knees impossibly close. 

Jane and Aragon stopped prying, so instead they just held the second queen close as she sobbed in their arms. 

**_Smile more_**. 

It was getting harder to hide her tears every passing day. Today was her sister's death day, and God did she want to lock herself in her room. 

She wasn't sure if she should hate her sister for not really pursuing Henry, or if she was glad cause she got to save her from the impending fate that waited for her at the end of a blade. She really had mixed feelings for her siblings. 

George got beheaded before her, that memory haunted her until her second life. Truth be told, she dreams more about George's beheading more than her's. It keeps her up at night, thinking and blaming herself for her brother's death. 

Same could be said for her sister. Both of her siblings might be disappointed in her, with banishing Mary and beheading George… if she was just a great sister to both of them, if she used her power as queen to help them, would they still be alive? Would they have reincarnated too? 

She knows she's not the only one missing her siblings though, the other queens misses their's too, with the exception of Kat. She knows Katherine couldn't care less about her own siblings, ~~_they all stabbed her in the back,_~~ they weren't really that close to each other.

So with a heavy heart, she just smiled, trying to convince herself Mary and George wouldn't want her to cry on this day. 

**_Talk. Less._ **

Anne hated sleeping, hated dreaming, her dreams always feels _so_ _real_. She could hear Henry's voice, feel Elizabeth's soft touch, the mettalic stench of George's blood, seeing Mary leave. What hurts her most was watching her mother get beheaded like her, like George. She honestly _despise_ those nights, nights like tonight. 

She didn't sleep, Anne honestly couldn't remember when she last had a peaceful sleep, so she went downstairs to make herself tea. She sucks at making tea, though. It has always been Jane to make her some, but she didn't want to disturb her at the dead of the night, so she just tried. It tasted like shit. 

Accepting the fact that she can't even make tea, she went to the living room to watch some movies. Surprisingly enough, she wasn't the only one with the same intentions. 

"Sup, Bo. What's got you up this late at the night? Even Cath's asleep, I think. Honestly, I don't even know if she sleeps anymore."

Cleves said with unnerving normalcy. The look the fourth queen gave her was something of wonder and understanding. Anne wanted to run, to leave and lock herself in her room, but she knows it'll cause more uproar in the morning. So she sat next to Cleves, heaving a sigh as she did so. 

"Oh not much," she said with a small shrug, "I could honestly ask you the same thing." She retorted back, a smirk on her lips. 

Cleves huffed, "you already know why I'm up, Bo." Anne could hear the waver in her voice. 

Anne knows, of course, what's got Cleves up in the night. The fourth queen was still haunted by the guilt of Kat's death. Anne could sympathize, she felt the same way with George. But unlike Cleves, Anne never admitted her's out loud. 

The two sat in peace as they watched some crappy movie from Netflix. Anne wanted to leave, she knows sooner or later Cleves will ask again why she's up, and she has no mind whatsoever to ever tell her, or anyone, about her thoughts. It's not that she doesn't trust Cleves or the other queens, but she doesn't want to come off as weak and vulnerable. She was strong, stronger than she was in her past life, she's not going to disappoint herself this time. Not again. 

"Bo, you're crying." 

_Shit_. Anne quickly wiped away the tears, almost clawing at her eyes. 

Cleves let out a humourless chuckle, "that movie really got you, huh?" Yet she knows, they both know, it wasn't the movie Anne was crying about. 

With a shaky laugh, Anne scoffed, "yeah, it bloody did."

For the rest of the night, the two didn't sleep, only watched more and more shows until it was the crack of dawn. Until Jane came down and started scolding them. Anne was actually quite grateful Cleves never asked her again. 

**_Smile... More..._ **

Katherine was getting more and more worried about her cousin. Anne hasn't been eating well, she hasn't been sleeping, and she's only alive because of her coffee and energy drinks; who wouldn't be worried?

She took it upon her own hands and went to Anne's room. She was about to storm in, but she heard a small whimper from inside. Katherine stopped, leaning forward to press her ears on the door, and she was right, there is whimpering. 

Katherine rushed inside to see Anne thrashing in her sleep, sweat dripping from her head, eyes screwed shut as she muttered names under her breath. The youngest queen dashed to her cousin's side, kneeling beside the bed, and started shaking Anne. 

"Anne! Annie! Wake up, it's just a dream!" She said, voice becoming more frantic with each word. "Please, Anne, wake up!" Her pleas were finally heard as Anne shot up from her sleep, eyes wide and manic as she looked around before locking her eyes with Katherine's. 

"Anne! Are you alri—"

"—Mary?"

Kat only kneeled there, stunned. 

"Mary is that really you?" Anne cried out, desperation clear in her voice, she reached towards Katherine, to which Kat complied and pushed herself from the ground and sat beside Anne on her bed. Anne didn't hesitate hugging her. "Oh it is you! Mary, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I should've been there, I shouldn't have shunned you. I… I'm sorry. I'm _so_ sorry. Forgive me, _please_."

Kat wrapped her cousin tighter, rubbing soothing circles on her back. "Anne, it's alright." She quietly said, pressing her lips on Anne's temple. "It's alright, it's going to be okay. We're going to be okay." She said as calmly as she can, yet she could feel her hands shaking from where they were.

Anne sniffed, and looked at Katherine with bloodshot eyes, "what about George? Will he ever forgive me? Mother, too! Oh, _oh_ _God_ , Mary, I'm so sorry!" 

Katherine bit her lip, bringing Anne close. "I forgive you," she whispered, "and I'm sure George and mother does too. What happened wasn't your fault, Annie. We love you."

The second queen only nodded, and wept on Katherine's shoulder, muttering an almost incoherent "I love you, too."

"Want me to stay with you?"

A nod in response. 

"Okay, come on. Let's get settled then." And Katherine gently placed Anne back down, wiping away stray tears before laying down next to her cousin. 

Anne still held Katherine close, burying herself deeper in Kat's neck, making sure she feels her pulse. It helped, especially with keeping the nightmares at bay. Anne actually slept peacefully that night. 

Only in the morning did Anne realize it was Katherine that was with her, not her sister. 

**_. . ._ **

Anne has lost so many people in her past life, she'd be damned if she lost any of her fellow queens. She admits though, oftentimes it hurts to even look at them no matter how much she loves and cares about them. They just remind her so much of her lost loved ones. 

Aragon and Jane's placid and maternal nature towards them reminds her so much of her mother. Kitty's innocence is like Elizabeth's. Cleves' calm and often chaotic attitude is like her siblings. And Parr… Parr reminded her so much of her Henry. How patient both of them are, how gentle, so caring and supportive. Anne would be lying if she said she doesn't often imagine Henry in the place of Cathy, it just gives her some sort of closure, yet at the same time it gives her longing. Longing for a love she was suppose to have— a love she never truly got. 

Parr was someone Anne trusted with her life. Parr was the one who helped raise Elizabeth, who taught her and made her the queen she is. Sure, she had her own faults and flaws, but don't they all? Anne knows Parr held so much past regret and guilt that it drowns her in a sea of darkness with the waters keeping her down. One thing in particular was what happened between her daughter and Thomas Seymour. 

That was a flame that caused a huge uproar between herself, Parr, and Jane. Anne for her part was hurt, her daughter was taken advantage of just like her cousin, _of course_ she was hurt. Jane wasn't necessarily mad at Parr, but she was towards her own brother. Jane knew Thomas wasn't a good person, far from it really, but what irked her was that Parr was too blinded by her own love to ever realize what Thomas was doing. Parr knew of course, and she regretted it up until today. Never was a night where she doesn't want to change her song from the show. 

Despite that though, despite the revelation, Anne still trusts Parr. She trusts the sixth queen with all that she is, even trust her with her own problems. They help each other out, balancing each other perfectly, but ever since Anne started distancing herself, it didn't went unnoticed to Parr. 

"Anne, what's wrong?" 

The second queen didn't really want to answer that. She'd rather push Cathy away than to burden her with more of her problems. So she sulked, head hung low as she sat unmoving on her bed. 

"Please, Bo. I'm getting worried about you."

Anne didn't answer, instead she just looked down on the pictures held tightly in her hands. A picture of Elizabeth, and portraits of her mother, of George, and of Mary. Just between them is a worn out picture of Henry Percy. She glided her thumb across the picture of Henry, gently caressing it as if the lightest of touch would break it. She was so deep in her thought she didn't notice Cathy kneeling in front of her, one hand on her knee, while the other was cupping her face. 

"Mon amour, please don't hide your tears from me."

Anne took in a sharp breath, and finally, _finally_ _felt_ Cathy's presence. She finally felt Cathy's hand on her cheek, caressing her the way she did with Henry's picture. Felt Cathy leaning in close and resting her head on Anne's. It felt solid, _real_ , that she finally let the dam break. 

" _je veux mourir,_ " she whispered, _"Je veux être à nouveau avec eux,_ " Anne sobbed, not bothering to stop the tears. She wept and wailed and gripped the pictures tightly. " _Je veux mourir._ "

She can hear Cathy gasp, can feel the sixth queen wiping away her tears, and hears her whisper: "and do you think they want that?"

Anne bit her lip at the thought. She's sure Henry and her mother wouldn't want that, but her siblings? Her daughter?

"Anne, I'm sure they wouldn't want you to die. I'm sure wherever they are, they're glad that you found people that truly loves you. And I'm pretty sure they're proud at how far you've come." Cathy softly said, eyes never leaving Anne's. God, those eyes always look so tired, so worn out by time, but it still held that softness that Anne absolutely loves. "If you ask me, I'm glad you're here with us. We aren't six without you, y'know. It wouldn't be fun messing with Aragon without you."

At that, Anne let out a choked laugh. Cathy seems to brighten at the sight. 

"And I'm sure Kitty and Anna's pranks wouldn't be properly executed without you helping them," she noted, remembering the last time the two were against Anne at a prank war. The duo never stood a chance. Jane was highly amused and actually helped Anne that day, Kitty and Cleves weren't allowed around glitter for a month. 

Anne giggled at the memory, the two challenged her that time, they instantly regretted it. The look on their faces were quite priceless. 

"Jane wouldn't have started standing up for herself if it weren't for you. So don't say that you want to die, you still have so much more to add to this bleak and cruel world. And without you," Cathy trailed off, looking to the side. Her cheeks were dusted with pink, _she was blushing_ , Anne noticed. "Without you, my second life wouldn't be as exciting." 

Anne was flabbergasted to say the least. She could feel her own cheeks reddening at Cathy's words. The thought of being someone's light in the mist, of being Cathy's lifeboat in her dark sea, it warmed Anne's heart, something she hasn't felt since she was separated from Henry. 

"So," Cathy then looked back at Anne, "I'm here for you, Annie. Always. You don't have to be shy when talking to me, you can tell me anything. You can drop your smile, be your own self. Not just to me, but to the others as well," she softly said, now cupping Anne's face with both hands. "We love you. I love you. I hope you know that, and I know your family and Henry Percy loves you too." 

The tears flowed freely along Anne's cheek, some were wiped away by Cathy, some fell on the pictures. With a sob, she whispered, "do you really? Do _they_ really?" The uncertainty in her voice almost broke Cathy's demeanor. 

The sixth queen sighed and sat down next to Anne, her hands moving from Anne's face to her shaking hands. Cathy leaned in and placed her chin on Anne's shoulder. "of course, Anne." She breathed out, holding the second queen's hand softly, and she took Elizabeth's picture. "I'm sure Lizzie would be proud that her mom is a well known singer all around the world." She chuckled, low and deep, and she could feel Anne smile. 

Anne nodded, and leaned in to Cathy more. "I hope they aren't that mad that I never mention any of them in the show." 

"I'm sure they don't mind. I think they know how much it'll hurt you." Cathy replied, now moving her arms around Anne and hugging her close. "I think they'd rather have you be happy than to cry while doing the show."

That prompted a small laugh from Anne. "Yeah," she sighed, closing her eyes as she leaned in closer to Cathy, head on her chest, "you're right. Thanks, Cath."

Cathy smiled and kissed the top of Anne's head, "of course, anything for you, mon amour."

Later that night, Anne finally told the other queens. Told them of Henry Percy and her mother. Told them how she missed her siblings and her daughter. She told them everything, she stopped talking less, and through the whole ordeal she was crying. _No need to hide the tears_ , she reminded herself, _no need to smile all the time_. And she finally felt free, like half her problems vanished, because she knows the queens, _her family_ , are always there for her. 

**Author's Note:**

> "je veux mourir. je veux être à nouveau avec eux" means "I want to die. I want to be with them again."
> 
> Of course, if it's wrong, just tell me and I'll just fix it


End file.
